Mindless Self Indulgence – Mark David Chapman

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  General Comment:Jimmy said, "[No record company] is taking any chances and they're giving the worst deals to every band, so they sign things that are absolutely no-brainers. [...] Rock and roll is pre-fabricated, all these emo screamo bands are pre-fabricated. They're thinking about what the next single is, they're thinking about the angle of the video, they're thinking about every freakin' haircut, but the fact that they push rock and roll like it's not pre-fabricated is really what makes me wanna fucking punch them all."
  
  Steve also said, "It is totally a metaphor. There are too many bands, and not enough people to stop them. I think there's gotta be like, an Ice Age, cause this old fuckin rock thing's gotta go."

  Flag evaughn17on November 14, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:Jimmy said, "[No record company] is taking any chances and they're giving the worst deals to every band, so they sign things that are absolutely no-brainers. [...] Rock and roll is pre-fabricated, all these emo screamo bands are pre-fabricated. They're thinking about what the next single is, they're thinking about the angle of the video, they're thinking about every freakin' haircut, but the fact that they push rock and roll like it's not pre-fabricated is really what makes me wanna fucking punch them all."
  
  Steve also said, "It is totally a metaphor. There are too many bands, and not enough people to stop them. I think there's gotta be like, an Ice Age, cause this old fuckin rock thing's gotta go."

  Flag evaughn17on November 14, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:I think it's mocking that fact that so many people don't read into the meanings or intentions behind certain musicians and songs and dismiss them as just another band that sounds the same as all the rest, and that someone should just get rid of them. Alot of the lyrics are just a description of how said demographic thinks the bands are created (not literally, just in the sense of them being cocky assholes). This song always makes me think of PMRC.

  Flagged tehmonkayon March 13, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:OK, basically i think this song is about wanting to bring back mark david chapman so he can kill other people in bands because well, "Hey
  
  When the worlds overrun
  With too many bands
  Who is it time for?
  
  Mark Chapman"
  
  That makes tons of sense to me.
  
  

  Flag oniXionon September 30, 2010   Link

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• +1
  My Interpretation:The meaning of this song to me is pretty much a combination of things that have been said here already. This song is basically about how all bands sound alike to each other, and that bands that actually make an effort to be different and care about the music are drowned ou by the hordes of clones flooding the music industry. He then focuses that specifically on emo / boy bands with little talent or originality that sell mainly from being "hawt".
  
  The purpose of inclusing Mark David Chapman in this song has little to nothing to do with Lennon, it has to do with what Chapman did and why. Chapman killed Lennon because he thought he was a phony that everyone was following. Jimmy isn't asking for people to kill the bands, he is simply stating that if Lennon was around today he would want to kill all of these generic bands because they are all phonies.
  
  As for "I'm part of the problem, not the solution", to me, even though this is probably unintentional, he is saying that he is also guilty of selling out, which is sort of true, whether he realizes it or not. After all, two-thirds of the album "If" sounds just like the generic bullshit this song is making fun of.
  
  Finally, the song also is saying that when MSI is gone, other bands will simply take their place.

  Flag TusChanon August 16, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:I think you guys are missing the meaning of the reference to Mark David Chapman. Yes, he killed John Lennon. The reason why, though, is what's important. Chapman drew from the book "Catcher in the Rye" that the "phonies" of the world should be executed. He perceived John Lennon as a phony, and thus murdered him. MSI is not saying that Chapman did a good job by killing Lennon, they're saying that we could use another crusader against phoniness in the music industry today.
  
  As for the Hitler reference, I can hardly believe there's a debate about it. The stereotypical "emo" look resembles that of Adolph Hitler. It's like no one's ever seen a picture of him. It likely carries a double meaning, also referring to the uniformity of "counter-culture" today. In fact, if anyone actually bothered to watch the video for this, you'd see both of these themes at work in very obvious ways.

  Flag TrendyHateon August 11, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:@GlamourWithStammer - "But why does he include Hitler in this song?" - Gee, maybe Jimmy saw that photo-shopped 4chan image of Hitler in emo clothes and swooped comb over like the rest of the internetz and he thought it'd be funny to include in the song? There's also the joke that Hitler was "the original emo kid," because he put a cyanide pill in his mouth and 'BECAME AN HERO' with his bitch, Eva Braun, in a bunker after losing the war.
  
  
  @petbreak - HEY BATMAN, WHY SO SERIOUS? Okay, so emo kids didn't go around murdering Jews. But they do have that whole "scene" shit where they all copy off each other and look exactly the same, and sing about the same old shit. Maybe it was cool when Deathcab for Cutie was doing it, but like anything, after the labels picked it up and commercialized it, it became generic. The "emotion" part of it stopped being genuine once EVERYBODY was doing it and every radio station and video channel was playing it.
  
  "Coincidentally, we all sound exactly the same
  We all want to swindle kids out of their money."
  
  The labels don't give a shit about giving the people anything new or unique, they just want to put out whatever is going to sell and then mass market it in Hot Topic to impressionable 12 year olds. Thus, you get your MCR's, your AFI's, your Fallout Boys, your Red Jumpsuit Aparati, and a gazillion others that are just a repeat of Backstreet Boys and N'sync but with pale makeup, color striped hair and dark clothes.
  
  "If your still doing this cuz you believe in it, you are so fucking lame!"
  
  This is the mainstream corporate label whore saying to the new guy:
  'if you're really making music with a message and substance, you're dated.'
  
  "I am part of the problem, not the solution.
  I'm just a prisoner, in the same prison as you.
  We wait for other shoes to fall into position
  Already obsolete, no one will miss us at all."
  
  He knows that he's no more well off than those
  he criticizes. Just by being in the music industry,
  he's another cog in the machine and once they're
  over, the labels will pick some new norm to
  force feed everyone and they'll be forgotten.
  
  "...Making us all indescribably indistinguishable from
  Each other, Or maybe I'm just another megalomaniac."
  
  Jimmy analyzes his own biases and "music purist" attitude and sees
  that even if he could kill off bands that don't fit with his idea
  of perfection, then it would only lead to another period of mass
  conformity and creative stagnation which would then need another
  musical holocaust to wipe away the new mainstream.

  Flag kitsune_bakaon February 22, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:Classic example of people freaking out over the meaning of a song

  Flag Dojindogon February 10, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:You are all missing the underling meaning. What most of you don't seem to realize is that alot of MSI's work has two meanings, normally a ridiculous one which most people see (such as mark chapman killing john lennon)and a deeper meaning that i haven't seen most of you catching. Don't think im try to put you down. I took me a while to catch on as well. But the other meaning is that every artist is conforming to the same standard including them selfs. and we as fans of music are allowing it to take place right in front of us, even though thats what most of us are against. They're pointing out that even though they hate it they're just like everyone else and that we are morons for not realizing it even though there is a clear need for us to change it.

  Flag Dewbie93on August 20, 2009   Link

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    Exactly! I'm a big Lennon fan and I still love this song, Chapman is just an example they don't even mention the killing or Lennon in the song.

    Flag Vertmanon August 21, 2009  
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  General Comment:This song is just cruel, regardless of what John Lennon believed in or sang about he was a husband, son, father, friend, and icon to thousands of people. A person, that's as far as it should go, everyone should follow their own heart and if people are stupid enough to conform, it says nothing about who they're conforming to. If someone is making music and being productive, who gives a fuck if it's original or cutting edge. He didn't deserve to be killed because this fucking joke of a lyricist thinks that he knows which direction for music is "genuine." This anger is just a pussyfied way of saying that he stays up all night crying because "no one understands him" or will buy his records. lol. BOO fucking hoo. What a pessimist! We're like murdering millions of jews? I'm pretty sure bands that you are way too cool (HAHA!) have affected more lives positively than the amount of people that have ever even heard your fucking band. Hey buddy, come to terms with your humanity (yes that is the tears, they're not so scary, ya joke) and act like a fucking empathetic understanding person. People may like you for who you are then and your music wouldn't have to define you! Believe me, you haven't advanced music for shit...HAHA

  Flag petbreakon July 10, 2009   Link

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